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A Good Cup of Decaf?

Some coffee drinkers insist that decaffeinated coffee does not taste nearly as good as regular because the flavors and aromas are affected by the decaffeination process. Others have been drinking chemically decaffeinated coffee for so long that they either don’t mind the difference in taste or don’t notice it at all. Whichever group you fall into, it might be time to try Infusco’s decaf coffee and see if you can taste the difference.

All decaf coffee beans are decaffeinated when they are green – before they are roasted. Most coffee companies use what is called the direct method to decaffeinate their beans, a process that involves steaming the beans and rinsing them with chemical solvents like dichloromethane and ethyl acetate for ten hours. These chemical rinses remove the caffeine from the beans, which are then steamed for another ten hours to remove any chemical residue.

The problem with this method is that because there are hundreds of components in every coffee bean that are critical to the taste and aroma of the brew, it is difficult to isolate and extract only the caffeine. Other components are likely removed as well, and traces of the chemical solvent rinse can be left behind. This affects the way the drink tastes, and explains why some people have never met a decaf coffee that they liked.

So how do we solve this problem? Infusco purchases beans that have been decaffeinated using a method known as the Swiss Water Process. This method takes 8-10 hours, and results in flavorful coffee beans that are 99.9% caffeine free and 100% chemical free. A batch of green coffee beans are immersed in hot water, which extracts the caffeine as well as other flavors. This water, called green coffee extract, is then passed through a charcoal filter that catches only the caffeine molecules. The first batch of green coffee beans is tossed out, and the next batch goes through the same process – but instead of new, clean water, the fresh beans are immersed in the green coffee extract produced by the flavors of the first batch. This almost eliminates any loss of flavor in the second batch of beans, while removing all of the caffeine without chemicals. Pretty cool!

So next time you’re craving the taste of great coffee, but you don’t want the caffeine kick, stop by and try Infusco’s coffee decaffeinated with the Swiss Water Process!